ONE
The heavy door to the library stood open, giving way for a peculiar single-file trail of floating books to enter and make a stack in the center of the room. The stack was rising higher and higher, and a new one would be needed soon. Each book was enveloped in an bright, purple aura, which appeared to be guiding the tomes to their destination. These books were all part of a delivery in response to an order, made by the librarian whom of which worked and lived in the aforementioned library. She was an alicorn, a pony with both wings and a horn, who was colored lavender purple, and had a similarly-colored mane and tail, save a strip or two of pink. On her flank was a large star, all surrounded by five smaller ones, meant to imply the magical abilities of this particular pony. She could be found next to the open door, her horn enveloped in an aura identical to that of the books.
She was not the only living creature in the room, however. Aside from the bacteria and the hidden rodents, there was a second creature who was standing on the other side of the door. "Leaning" would be more accurate. He was a short, colored green and purple, with spikes on his back and claws on his arms and feet. He was a dragon, a young one at that, and his name was Spike. Spike was, despite the parade of floating books in front of him, quite bored. His elbow was placed on the wall of the curved inside of the tree and his closed fist pressed into his cheek. His expression was bored, and even slightly irate.
"Twilight," he said, addressing the Purple Alicorn whom we discussed earlier, "how big was this 'order' of yours, exactly?"
The purple mare's ears piqued in interest after detecting her name, and she looked away from the books and to Spike. The books did not halt their show, even as less concentration from Twilight was directed towards them.
"Hmm...let's see..." she said, "ah, I purchased exactly six-hundred and twenty-two books."
The small reptile's eyes widened and he stood up straight, taking his elbow off of the wall.
"Six hundred? And twenty-two? What are we gonna do with all those books?"
"Well, read them, of course. And then get them into the library so that other ponies can read them."
"Well duh, but why...why so many? This is the probably biggest order of yours so far..."
The third stack of books ended in the center of the library and a fourth began.
"Well, mostly because my stipend is a lot bigger than it was before I became a Princess."
"Hole in your pocket?"
Twilight giggled, "Yep, pretty much."
"Aw, but that means," his eyes widened once more, "more re-shelving. Gah!"
"Well, yes...you just now realized that?"
Spike threw his claws up and stalked up the stairs as Twilight chuckled at her assistant's antics. Yes it was true, that meant more re-shelving and, ooh, organizing, but, as we all know, Twilight loved re-shelving, and organizing even more so.
The engines rumbled, spitting smoke and flame into the empty space behind them. The rumbling could only be heard from inside, because, as you all know, there is no air in space. The ship that these engines belonged too was a large one, a carrier, and another one identical to its brother could be seen above it. A third, though smaller ship, a simple fighter, flew alongside both of them, and yet a fourth space-faring vehicle led the pack: a troop transport. All of these ships were damaged, and all of them running low on fuel. They needed to find someplace to land, fast.
This small collection of vehicles were the only survivors of the nuclear blast that had recently taken their homes away; they had managed to escape both the flames and the ISA forces. They were all that was left, and they wanted vengeance.
Each ship was packed to the rim with Helghast soldiers, primarily troopers, thousands of them, and each one wanted to end the ISA, moreso than ever before. But that would have to wait, as they needed to be alive for that to happen. In the cockpit of the original ship sat two pilots, red eyes glowing. One leaned over to the other and spoke in a raspy, accented voice, saying, "Our detectors are picking up a planet with the ability to sustain life, directly in front of us."
"How far?"
The other pilot was silent for a moment as he calculated. After a while he announced, "Definitely within flying distance."
The other pilot simply nodded and flipped on the intercom to speak to both the other ships and the inhabitants of his own.
"Sons and daughters of Helghan, I must announce that we have found a livable planet which we can reach before it is too late."
There was light-hearted cheering from all around.
"We will land there and get our bearings. We are not sure if it is already inhabited, but if it is we are to be friendly with them, for they are not yet our enemies. Over."
There was more cheering and the intercom switched off. Again, the pilots nodded to one another and began to accelerate towards what was hopefully their new home.
It was nighttime in Equestria, and the land slept as Princess Luna lept from dream to dream, painting the night sky with stars. Only the most studious of ponies were still up at a time like this, and Twilight was no exception. Spike had gone to bed, still a bit agitated at Twilight's massive book shipment, and Twilight had decided to stay up and study the stars, perhaps discover something new. Tonight, Twilight was looking for a comet.
They could be anywhere, and were very hard to spot, so Twilight needed to stay alert and ever watchful if she wished to successfully spot a comet, which she did. Very much so.
The night sky was still, sadly, save the slow turn of Equis on its Axis. Twilight sighed and let the telescope go. She was not giving up, mind you, rather taking a break; her neck was quite tired...
The Alicorn soon returned with a hot cup of coffee in hoof and took her position at the window once more. She panned the area, searching for anything that she might have missed. Sadly, still nothing. Wait. Hold on. What was that?
Twilight focused the telescope on what she believed had been motion, and she was correct. There, in the Northwest, a...that was not a star. It was neither a star nor any celestial object that Twilight had ever seen before and the peculiar part was that it seemed to be...descending to the ground. Yes, it most definitely was.
Twilight noticed that the previously clear night suddenly had dark storm clouds brewing, and all of them were heading in the direction of the falling object. It was a heavy storm, but it was moving at unnatural speeds.
Twilight noticed much thunder and lighting and she leveled her telescope to the ground. No...not one...but three. Three of these objects, which appeared to be made of metal, were descending from the storm, lightning striking all of them. Make that four.
Oh no, Twilight thought, those looks like....transports of some kind.
And she was correct. Twilight surveyed the far-away landing-point and the ships there. Each of them sported a symbol, a black and red circle with three arrows pointing outward. Military?
Twilight gasped and dropped her coffee. Were they being invaded?
The mare quickly found a quill and parchment, jotting down a quick letter to the Princess.
"Spike! Wake up! Now!"
"Huh? Wha-?"
"Send this!" Twilight said, shoving the rolled-up scroll into Spike's chest.
"What? Why? Why now?"
"Just do it!" Twilight hissed.
"Woah, jeez, alright, alright."
One deep breath and a puff of green smoke later, the scroll found its way into the air.
"Twilight...what's going on? What's wrong?"
"Spike, look at this."
Twilight placed a stool under the telescope and the baby dragon tiredly climbed on top of it. He leveled it and peered inside. His little body tensed up and he gasped.
"What are they?"
The ramp landed on the ground with a heavy thud, and several troopers rushed out, though not as quickly as they would have, had they been entering an actual battle.
The sensors had declared the gravity almost exact to that of their previous planet. The air was not breathable, but they had their masks for a reason. After surveying the area for a short time, Commander Stromm, the newly-elected, if not temporary, Helghast leader, had decided to set down in a large, thick forest where they could clear the trees for lumber and maybe hide from the natives, if they be hostile. They had, quite frankly, been too excited to scan for much more than a few seconds, and the storm clouds upon landing had made it impossible to see very far, so they had yet to know if there were any sentient beings there.
Already, construction was beginning. Lumber was being rooted, cut, and burned, and supplies from the ships were being brought out. Tents were set up, as well as fences and towers. Yes, the Helghast soldiers were quick and efficient, if nothing else.
From atop his ship, Commander Stromm began to survey the area once more with his binoculars.
"Ah. Well, that most certainly is interesting..."
"What is it, Sir?" The trooper standing behind him inquired.
"It appears as if there are sentient beings occupying this planet."
"You have located one?"
"I have found three entire settlements, all within view."
"That is interesting."
"Here," Stromm said, handing the binoculars over to the trooper, "take a look for yourself and begin creating a map."
"Right away, Commander."
The trooper immediately looked through the binoculars, an audible interested ah finding its way from under his mask, and began to take mental notes; he would send for map-making supplies later.
Commander Stromm walked down into then ship, and found his way onto the ground. He had a new Empire to build.
The return letter had found its way back quickly, and it was simple: be still and wait for the Guards to come and determine whether or not these new visitors were friendly. They would be safe, the Princess assured them. Twilight had opted to keep sending letters while she observed what was going on over in the Everfree forest. So far, the results had been disturbing. The creatures were tall, bipedal things that were dressed in heavy, black clothes and armor, with a strange apparatus on where Twilight guessed their face would be. The eyes on these apparatuses were glowing red. Each had a lot of gear on itself, things that Twilight recognized and things that she did not.
Almost as soon as they set down, one of the ships had let its occupants out. The creatures seemed eager, hurried even, but not necessarily in search of things just to kill. They had explored for a bit, and then more troops and supplies came from each of the vehicles. Crates, more of the creatures, tents, metal, wood, and a plethora of other items came in spades.
Twilight's stomach turned a bit when she saw the aliens begin to tear up their surroundings. Such a low level of care for the wildlife. Then she saw something that both intrigued and disturbed her even further. One of the aliens wandered off. This one was big, in a heavy suit that appeared to be made of metal. He wandered into the underbrush, probably out of curiosity, and Twilight gasped as she saw something throw itself at the alien: a Timber Wolf.
The wooden canine attempted to latch onto the creature's arm, but to no avail: it was, after all, solid metal. The alien looked down at the poor wolf for a moment before hurling it into the underbrush, raising its arm up, and somehow firing a volley of flame after it.
The wolf was not seen again, but Twilight doubted that it survived. Flames...how had it done that? She did not see any horns, nor wands, nor staffs, so she was not sure if it was magic or...what? The rest of the wolf's pack was nowhere to be found.
Another letter went to the Princess.
Twilight began to survey the site again. Tents and fences were being erected, as well as fox-holes and ditches being dug. These things were here to stay, though whether that was a good or a bad thing, Twilight still had to determine.
"Spike, you still there?"
"Yeah Twilight, what is it?"
Still looking through her telescope, Twilight said, "Don't worry Spike, these things won't hurt us."
"H...how do you know?"
The unicorn let the telescope from her grasp and looked the small dragon in the eye.
"Because, Spike, I will protect us."
Spike smiled and wrapped his claws around Twilight in a hug, who returned us. They sat in silence like that for a while, both reassuring the other with their warmth.
Still hugging Twilight, Spike asked, "What about Fluttershy? She lives really close to there."
"They haven't noticed her yet...at least, I don't think so..."
Twilight broke of the hug and returned to her telescope, swinging it over to Fluttershy's hut. What she saw drew a gasp from her. Two of the aliens were close, both of them looking at the timid pony's home.
"Hold. Look."
"Yes?"
"It appears to be a building, a civilian's housing."
"Oh?"
"Yes. There," said Private Zyve, pointing.
"Ah. Look at all of those animals..."
"Yes. Perhaps we could kill one or two for food; it would be easy hunting."
The other, Private Sycth, nodded slowly, "Alright, not too many; we don't want the resident to declare war on us."
Zyve chuckled.
"No, we do not. Attach your silencer and follow me."
"Hold. I have a better idea."
"What is that?"
"We are experienced with our firearms, but rarely have we used our blades."
"Yes...?"
"Perhaps we could sneak up on whichever ones we wish to kill and use our blades."
"I don't see why not."
Fluttershy sat, huddled in the corner of her kitchen, a frying pan gripped between her two front hooves. She could barely hold on, she was trembling so hard. It was all she could do to not wet herself right then and there. She slowly peeked out of the window, and noticed that the monsters had come closer.
She considered making a run for it, but they might catch her. Also, that would mean leaving behind her animal friends...
Her animal friends!
Fluttershy peeked out the window just in time to see one of the monsters grab Angel Bunny. Those things were fast, and quiet...
But that's not what was on the timid pegasus' mind, what was on her mind was how that monster pulled a large, sharp knife from under his belt, and held it up to the struggling creature.
No!
The small rabbit struggled to no avail, and Zyve stood, ready to slit the furry creature's throught. His hand was halted when he heard a resounding "NO!" come from inside the cottage. It was not a terrified or despaired cry, no, it sounded more like a determined one. And whatever it was spoke the same language as they? Interes-
Private Zyve was hurled to the ground beneath something unbelievably strong. There was more force in this than when he had been hit almost directly by a mortar round back on Helghan!
"You think you can just go around picking on, no killing poor, defenseless animals for you own selfish gain!? You think that you can just come here and start doing whatever you want!? Well I'm here to tell you, right here, right now, that. You. CAN'T!"
Zyve had been struggling for his blade but, with that last word, the misleadingly adorable creature widened its eyes and Zyve froze. It was like a fist of cold iron had been rammed down his throat and into his intestines. He couldn't move, blink, and could hardly talk.
What? What is this?
"Zyve!"
Sycth raised his weapon but Zyve managed to utter a strangled "no."
Sycth was hesitant, but he lowered his weapon. The standing Helghast thought for a moment and decided to attempt communication: it seemed as if she spoke the same language as the Helghasts after all.
"You are on my partner."
He made no attempt to sound nice or warm, he just deadpanned.
"Of course I'm 'on your partner' he tried to kill Angel Bunny!" the small, formerly timid creature shouted, not breaking eye contact with Zyve.
"What if I told you that he was sorry?"
"Well..."
"Look at him, he's struggling to breath, you're going to suffocate him if-"
"Ohmigodness!"
The small equine creature hopped off in a quick motion.
"I'm so sorry! But you tried to kill Angel!"
The pony seemed conflicted.
"Oh but I'm still so, so sorry!"
The next few moments were surprisingly....awkward.
"What should we do, comrade?" Sycth quietly whispered to Zyve.
"I am...not sure..."
He met the small animal's eyes, and it, she, looked away.
Zyve had to stop a chuckle, "Would you like to come with us? We'd like you to meet our leader, and ours to meet yours."
"Um...well, mayb-no."
"What?"
"I can't just leave my critter friends here all alone!"
Zyve and Sycth had to practically bite their tongues off to keep from laughing.
"Well, maybe later, you can see reas-"
And, once more, Zyve was hit to the ground; this time with a purple flash of energy.
"Fluttershy! Are you alright!"
"No, Twilight! It was all a big misunderstanding!"
Sycth had already fired. Twilight blocked the projectile with her magic and launched it back, where it found its way into Sycth's left kneecap with a wet thud.
"Gahhh!" the Helghast exclaimed as we crumpled to the dirt ground. By this point, most of Fluttershy's animals had either fled or were watching, intrigued.
"STOP!"
Twilight, Sycth, and a truly dazed Zyve all froze.
"Twilight! They didn't mean any harm, I think they were just looking for food...?"
With the last bit of the sentence, Fluttershy turned to face Zyve, still on the ground, who nodded.
"You see; we've been fleeing from a powerful enemy for a long while, and this is the first planet that could sustain life that we-"
"You can speak Equestrian!?"
"Wait...what?"
"Yes! Yes you can!" Twilight began hopping around in glee.
Fluttershy looked over the moaning form of Sycth on the ground over to Zyve who had managed to stand up and said, "Don't worry; she does that."
Zyve made no effort to suppress a chuckle this time.
"Stromm! Commander Stromm!"
The Helghast leader turned away from his supervision of the camp to the trooper who was rushing toward him.
"Yes?"
"We received a message from Privates Sycth and Zyve: they made contact with the natives!"
Stromm's interest piqued.
"How did it go?"
"Well..."
"We don't have another war on our hands, do we?"
"Negative. There were a few... misunderstandings. But it seems that all is well now. In fact, they are bringing back two of them so that you many meet them."
"Ah, wise of them...Sycth...Zyve...how long have they been privates?"
"Three years, commander."
"Ah, well, inform them that they have both been promoted."
The trooped saluted and hurried off. Stromm turned, his hands behind his back, and smiled. Interesting times indeed.